The state of retail marketing

The past two years have done a lot to change the way we operate in both retail marketing and retail as a whole, and while we could focus on the new technologies and tendencies we’ve seen emerge, we would be remiss if we didn’t begin by mentioning the change that’s happened in the mindset of the consumer. 

Because the consumer that’s headed into 2025 has been through a lot, and their reality is very different than it was just a few years ago. For instance, in June 2022 inflation reached a 40-year high, and by July 2023 US consumers had seen no less than 11 Federal Reserve rate hikes.

But what does that mean for us in retail marketing?

Well it means that everything is changing. The customer journey is different, their behavior is different, and we’re seeing new tendencies in the form of retail media offers and the use of AI.

The customer journey is changing

We’re slowly throwing away the funnels and paths that we’ve come to know as the bread and butter of retail marketing. And as a result, the buyer’s journey is becoming a little more fluid, and a lot more unpredictable.

This is in large part a result of the past years’ focus on omnichannel marketing and customer experiences. We’ve come to accept that the entire journey may be as short as a click on a social media ad and take no more than thirty seconds, or it could start on Google, continue in a physical store, and end with a forgotten cart email months later.

Now, the mix of physical and digital customer journeys is something we’ve become accustomed to, but what we really need to accept is not that they intertwine, but that they are one and the same, and we need to treat them as such.

By creating easy and frictionless shopping experiences through both online activities, physical activities and even retail media, you will create a stronger brand identity, and most likely generate more revenue in the process.

New tendencies emerge in retail marketing

Over the course of 2024 we’ve seen new tendencies emerge. While none of them were birthed over this past year, their roles have been solidified over the past months, and there’s a good chance this is something we’ll be seeing more of in the future.

Retail media networks are on the rise

Retail media networks isn’t a new beast when it comes to retail marketing, but they have been growing quite steadily over the past few years, and next year alone European brands are expected to spend 20.6 billion euros on retail media activities. This is a 28% growth year-on-year.

And it’s not just the big international brands like Amazon who are seeing an angle when it comes to retail media. Danish beauty retailer MATAS have invested heavily in their retail media machine over the past few years, and they are beginning to see a pay off too.

While digital advertisements have historically been viewed as a nuisance, retail media offers can turn them into a helpful part of the customer experience. At least according to Kathrine Rønhof, MATAS’ Chief of Retail Media, who told Dansk Erhverv (The Danish Chamber of Commerce) that their selectiveness in what they take in through retail media combined with an attentiveness to the needs of the individual customer, means that their retail media ads actually enhance the customer experience.

AI is finding its place in retail marketing

Over the past year AI has been a hot topic in most businesses. The big question, however, has been how to best utilize it. We’ve seen many attempts to use AI to scale parts of a business, from content creation to reporting, but when it comes to retail one area has proven a lot more susceptible to AI scaling than the rest; personalized product recommendations.

According to Deloitte half of retail executives have made AI-driven product recommendations a priority in 2024.

Where is retail marketing going in 2025?

When we as retail marketers are gearing up for the year ahead, we of course need to dive into both the emerging technologies and trends as well as the way consumer behaviour is evolving, as this is the only real way for us to stand out in the retail landscape.

From crafting seamless experiences that blend the digital and the physical buying experience to crafting loyalty programmes and offers that drive more engagement, there’s nothing we need more in retail marketing than first-party data.